Happiness at Work Be Resilient Motivated and Successful No Matter What - Book Report/Review Example

 “Happiness at Work: Be Resilient, Motivated, and Successful-No Matter What Introduction and overview Even though the concept “happiness” may seem as an illusion to many, especially, during hard times, the dedicated individuals always end up creating it. The book, by Professor Srikumar Rao, is well-tailored prototype supporting the notion that everybody has the inner potential of creating happiness, no matter the situation. All it takes is to learn the effective strategies for creating resilience and happiness, without relying on the outside world. The concept of happiness creation cuts across every field in the world, from business executives to casual workers on the street. Without relying on what is prevailing around, Rao asserts that all kinds of people in these fields can create joy. Intuitively, the author crowns it all by asserting that the main cause of unhappiness is not what transpires but the way it is viewed by the party. In which case, there is need to heed to the phrase “every day is the same” and classify every situation as neutral without classifying them as bad or good. Much of efforts should be put towards controlling the mind, to move away from negativity and instead focus on neutrality of every situation. Even though the title of the book specifically mentions happiness at work” it is worth noting that the concept cuts across every aspect of life. Rao presents research findings about how to create happiness at work in way that can be of utility to every person interested in management of their own happiness. Above all, Rao also focused on leaders who would like to model their organizations towards becoming successful. Application to organizational behavior concepts/theories Rao begins the book by pointing out that happiness is a concern to everyone, especially organizational leaders. He asserts that psychological health of the workers is a core concept, associated with happiness, and the success of the workers in their daily activities. In order to bring out his point consciously and clearly, Rao presents a link between happiness of individual workers and the overall success of the organization, by using various measures. Some of the proxy measures compiled by the author include creation of extreme resilience, accepting things the way they are, proper management of self and increased focus on major activities. All these, created by happiness bestowed upon the workers, are important for the wellbeing of their psychological state and hence the overall success at work. In addition to the established relationship, the author also brands happiness as a mindset which is instrumental for the workers to maximize performance. In which case, this is empirically factual considering the fact that people investing in their happiness are conscious of their emotions and cannot allow to be disrupted or disabled by them. Most of the times the inability to manage emotions acts as the basis for being unproductive during certain circumstances (Robertson & Professor, 29). Learning to create happiness comes in as an important aspect allowing the workers to effectively assess and manage their emotions thereby making them to look for the activities that satisfies them and their ability. The author goes on to oversimplify “creation of happiness” by asserting that its upon individual’s willingness that happiness can be restored. One of the interesting concept coming forth is the need to give away focus on time and instead deal with managing oneself. The author asserts that too much focus on time has led to failure because of its demoralizing effect on the subjects. In essence, time is out of control and anyone who relates success with time misses the point. Before prioritizing time, the most inherent thing is better management of self. Rao asserts, “You don't need to manage your time better. You need to manage yourself better" (Rao, 30). This assumption is sound and applicable to most organizational situations where people end up meeting the deadlines but with low quality production process. The validity of Rao’s assumption is best illustrated by the notion that time may compromise quality, especially, if it forces the subject to put much focus in completing the task rather than the final product. Naturally, practicing better management of self should be given the first priority, because unlike time that is uncontrollable, workers can control how they manage themselves towards achieving a given goal. Further, learning to manage oneself will make a worker to restrict themselves to the scope of work in a given day; consequently, achieving the goal of time management even without knowing. Consequently, according to this book time management, towards achievement of an organizational goal, should be a subset of proper self-management. Another major concept forthcoming from the book is the need to stop classifying a situation as good or bad. Rao asserts that labeling things as bad is the basis for failure in most people’s struggle. He notes that “"Even if you can't see how something can possibly be good, refraining from labeling it as 'bad” (Rao, 40). In which case, the author insinuates that, in divine spirit, there is not good or bad things in life, only the way we see it. The way he puts the point, in line to the title of the book, is far more arguable from the opinion that work is a real life situation that cannot be accessed in terms of illusion. While at work, success of an individual highly relies on the way one converts the bad to good, from day to day work. This, in contrast to Rao’s opinion, insinuates that a worker should be aware of every challenge/bad situation faced amidst work. At the end, a worker will be able to evaluate the situations in order to obtain a better strategy for counteracting against the bad situation. Naturally, without labeling situations, according to Rao’s will most certainly make the workers stick to their present situation without embracing skills enhancement. Skills and knowledge advancement, can only occur when an individual is aware of his failures and successes (Salzberg, 50). Through this the worker has the chance of setting forth strategies for counteracting the failures and maintaining the successes. Consequently, the author should modify this assumption to make it applicable to knowledge advancement at place of work. Practical value After reading the book, I have embraced a new perspective on what makes up success in everyday life. The book made me realize that every aspect of life, there is that one universal way to make use of the presented time without wasting it. In essence the book has taught me that focusing on the present moment is the most important thing for happiness and overall success. This triggers me to develop the idea, that from the now onwards, I should let things go and keep moving forward with the present situation. I will always recognize the presence of struggle whenever I go and above all the presence of failure. However, I will not let this discourage me from getting back on track and making the most from my life. No matter what, I would remain motivated and resilience towards achieving my aim through focusing on important things and practicing proper management of myself. Further, I have also learned the importance of contentment toward achieving success. Even though my present position may not be satisfying, the book has impacted me to always work towards creating inner happiness rather than relying on material objects. Regardless of my position, I have every weapon with me required by Rao to make me happy. In which case, the secret weapon is embracing my position and working towards managing myself better. In addition, the book has also impacted on my leadership ability through the useful approaches presented. As a group leader, the book has equipped me with the core ways to make my colleagues work toward achieving success. I can use the strategies provided in the book to help them around with their personal happiness in line with their improved performance in the group. Eventually, I am more than certain that the information provided in the book will help me in increasing their willingness to change for the better. Conclusion In conclusion, I would readily recommend this book to everybody who has the ability to comprehend a reading because it focuses on a core aspect of life. It is in the nature of every human being to encounter struggles and failure, but this does not hinder them from seeking an effective solution for all this. Rao presents an intensive book, which assures every reader that there is hope amidst any situation. The book assures the reader that learning to create resilience and happiness is the ultimate way to avoid the consequences of bad situations. The author does not surrender his endeovours at this state, but goes on to provide well illustrated ways in which an individual can create happiness. Further, the all-encompassing nature of the book, not only limited to work but to every aspect of life, furthers the milestone of the book in the inspirational field. Rao presents research findings about how to create happiness at work in way that can be of utility to every person interested in management of their own happiness. Consequently, this book works best for everybody and should be used for solving every struggle, from leadership issues to personal issues. Work cited Rao, Srikumar S. Happiness at Work: Be Resilient, Motivated, and Successful-No Matter What. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Internet resource. Salzberg, Sharon. Real Happiness at Work: Meditations for Accomplishment, Achievement, and Peace. , 2013. Print. Robertson, Ivan, and Professor C. Cooper. Well-being: Productivity and Happiness at Work. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. Internet resource. Read More